Once again the DNR will begin draining Rush Lake in Palo Alto county in NW Iowa. This is being done to get some vegitation to start to comeback, they have done this for the past few years. Lately the muskrat population has just exploded in the lake, and is supposed to be one of the main causes of the cattail's dwindling down. I used to be opposed to this, because there never seemed to be enough water in late summer to beigin to fill the lake back up. But after doing some studying, they might be right after all (oh man do I hate to admit I might be wrong :laughing: ). But in the long run it is better for the duck's. Not everyone around here thinks this way, it is a hot topic around here.

The only thing I always wander about is, years ago there was never any draining of lakes (to my knowledge any how), and the duck numbers were alot better. But that was then, this is now, and the guys doing this know a whole lot more about it than I do. What you guy's think?

hay duckdog at least theres rats at rush,if they all didnt get trapped out this year,and to me thats what keeps the ducks coming back there. I been ducking on lakes with no rats and it seems to be none around or very few if any,and I'm talking ducks not being there,besides the rats. It seems to me the more rats the more birds,and yes I had some the best shooting off that lake this year over all the others I went to and rush was the 1 with the most rats,if drainig rush helps the rats and ducks I'm for it but if it doesn't to me its a waste of time and tax dallars.I hope this finds you and yours doing well and haveing a good day. Horse

All is well here horse, I am starting to see sort of a comeback with the muskrats in our area. You are right about the ducks being where the muskrats are. I don't know what happened to the rat's. When I was in school they were everywhere, 1000's of them, and everybody trapped them to. It was nothing to here of multiple people getting 75 - 100 rats a day, and they seemed to keep up, but when fur prices went south, the rats seemed to vanish. I don't know if they got disease or what, I know geese nest on rat huts, not for sure about ducks

I'm not for real sure about the draining of sloughs and lakes, would'nt be so bad if we had the rains in late summer to fill them back up.

I geuss the number 1 thing is to make it better for the birds we love to hunt. Seeing how Iowa has lost 90% of its natural habitat, at least there trying to make the best of what we got.